1. Technical Field
One or more embodiments of the present invention relate to a switch having a reset function for turning OFF a power supply after a control unit completes data processing when a user stops the use of an electronic device such as a copy machine or a personal computer, and an electronic device.
2. Related Art
Generally, in a switch having a data protecting performance, contacts faced to each other so as to come into contact with and separate from each other in the switch are brought into contact to turn ON the power supply of the switch when the user manually operates an operating element operated in a see-saw manner, for example. The operating element is thereafter automatically inverted by a reset signal output by the control unit to switch to the power supply OFF state. Such a switch with reset function has been proposed (see e.g., Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 3907759).
This type of switch with reset mechanism, however, incorporates a power supply switch mechanism for turning ON/OFF the power supply by bringing into contact with and separating the contacts of a movable piece and a fixed terminal, and a power supply reset mechanism for releasing the ON holding state of the power supply by a solenoid inside a housing.
Specifically, one power supply reset mechanism and two power supply switch mechanisms on both sides thereof are arranged in parallel in the housing. An arrangement space for lining them in parallel in three columns in the housing is thus required, and the dimension in the short side direction (width direction) of the switch becomes greater according to the number of parallels. Furthermore, the arrangement space in the longitudinal direction needs to be long because a long movable piece is arranged inside the housing so as to be turned ON/OFF by being turned in the longitudinal direction of the switch. As a result, there is a limit to miniaturizing the switch in the current situation even if configured to efficiently accommodate the switch components, and further slimming and miniaturization of the switch cannot be achieved.
Although, this type of switch is used in an application of opening and closing a large current as the power supply switch, welding easily occurs at the contact when opening and closing such a large current. Therefore, consideration is made in enhancing the bias force of a spring for returning the movable piece and reliably spacing apart the contacts, but the operation feeling of the switch degrades if the bias force of the spring is enhanced and the abrasion at the switch mechanism section that is subjected to high bias pressure of the spring advances thereby shortening the lifespan.